Beer: Reviews & Ratings

A clear copper with just a few bubbles feeding a short lived thin film of head that leaves a few random patches of lace

S honey, dry cereal and a little toffee

T some dried fruit and nuts on top of what I smell, some sweet malt but not a whole lot of sugar

M medium bodied with just enough carbonation to keep it from feeling flat, nutty aftertaste lingers for a few minuets

O nothing offensive but nothing exciting either, no reason to turn it down but I wouldn't go searching for it

Alley Kat's been pumping out the brews this summer and I hope this continues through Fall and Winter. Not all great beers but at least their trying new stuff or in this case bringing old brews back to life (739 characters)

Pours a dark orange bordering on brown, with a thin cap of tan head. Head fades to a ring rather quickly.

The smell is a mix of malty toffee and a fruity hop smell, that makes me think of peach more than anything else.

Taste starts out faintly sweet, but not a strong malt profile. A little bit of biscuit in there. On the way back the hops take over with a slightly dry and bitter taste. Neither taste seems to stand out, it feels more like a balance of two hops. Nothing offensive here, balanced, but I was looking for more.

There is a little bit of body to this beer, and the carbonation is on the light side. It is smooth and drinkable, though at times feels a little on the light side to me.

Not a bad beer, but it doesn't really do much for me. (763 characters)

A - poured into a tulip, crystal clear copper, respectable off white head that retained at a half finger with intermittent lacingS - strong caramel and nutty aromas, light leafy and fruity accentsT - elements like the nose but it is generally dominated by a mineral or blood like flavour from start to finish, tasty but somewhat deceivingM - medium with a slightly syrupy feel to start, but quickly drys out but does leave a bit of a film on mouth roofO - bring back fond memories of my 2010 Oktoberfest experience, although this beer had more dunkel type elements than many of the fest lagers I've had, it is still a great brew and a timely seasonal (654 characters)

Amber in colour with medium carbonation. The aroma was a bit more fruity than I expected, but the malt aspect began to shine through the more I smelled it. The flavor profile is quite interesting... evolving from fruity, to malty, to bready, and finally toast. Good heavy body to this stuff too. Wonderful complexity overall, but I would have prefered the bready-toasty elements to be a bit more front and centre. (413 characters)

This beer is clear, medium amber - orange color, with a thin foamy, tan head. Thin ring of fine bubbles, and spider web thin lace. It smells of bready malt, caramel and/or toffee. Taste has the same malt sweetness, and also some dark fruit. Floral hops add to the balance and aftertaste. The carbonation is average, body is medium, finish is smooth and a bit dry.Not overly complex, but still good flavor. A drinkable choice that was well enjoyed on this evening. (531 characters)

Some rowdy cats whooping it up on the label of this one. A rich amber in appearance, small degree of off-white head that recedes to a thick ring and leaves a fair amount of lacing. Sweet malt, sour boozy notes and abundant flowery hops on the nose of this. Once again Alley Kat attains a fine balance on the flavour of this one, rich sourdough bread malt up front blending into what tastes like Cascade hops on the finish, leaving a hoppy bitter aftertaste to even out the chewy malt. Although a bit watery up front, the mouthfeel fills out in the middle, becoming a bit slick and oily on the finish. Very quaffable for an Oktoberfest, one could drink a fair amount of these before feeling the effects of the higher abv and thinking they should have stopped a couple of them back. Never happened to me though, nope, heard it from a friend. (839 characters)

I have been on the lookout for this one for a long time, and I finally stumbled across this plain-white six pack at Willow Park. The box is just a white box with the words "Ein Prosit Oktoberfest Lager" written with black felt marker across it. It looks like a homebrewing attempt at packaging. The label on the beer is the old-style Alley Kat one, with a kool kat holding a stein. I still like their old labelling like this--it was more unique. The beer is a rich clear rusty amber colour, looking much like an amber ale. The head is cream-white, fine, and left solid lacing. It remained only as a smallish top layer on the beer. The aroma is heavy on the honeyed malts, toast and butter, even a little spiciness like nutmeg. Initially, the malting seems good but fairly basic, again, very similar to an amber ale, but the more this one warms and the more I smell it, the complexity grows, adding a very meaty, vinous character to the aroma. The malting is very well done. Hints of perfume and flowers as well. Hops are very hard to detect. The taste has some dinstinctive Alley Kat flavours, from the yeast I would say. A tangy fruitiness is the first thing I taste, then creamy malts in the middle and a grainy caramel flavour in the finish. The taste almost has a red-licorice sweetness throughout too, and again the hops are barely perceptible. The malting is very grainy and cereal-like, and a little syrupy. Definite perfume esters, and perhaps a hint of the higher gravity. The mouthfeel is full and the body heavy for a lager. Very sweet and flowery, but an Oktoberfest beer I could drink happily repeatedly in one sitting. An interesting beer that really blurs the lines between ales and lagers, or at least the traditional view of them. Another dandy from Alley Kat. (1,777 characters)

What can I say about this elixir?!?! Very close to sex in a bottle. I like German beers and Marzen is a particular favorite and this rendition from Alley kat is the best Canadian Marzen I have tasted .beating out Dieu De Ceil, Cheval Blanc and other pub-brewed marzens I have tasted. The difference is in the hop mixture used in this brew .marvelous! Orange in color with a tall frothy cap and a delicious sweet bread and caramel aroma interposed with whiffs of German herbal hops. Medium bodied, creamy delivery of chewy sweet malts and earthy-musty notes a great Oktoberfest in the finest Teutonic fest-bier tradition. I cant get enough of this brew too bad its a once a year phenomena. (696 characters)

This is an oktoberfest beer, and a good one. It is 6% abv.
It is sweetish but the alcohol level tempers that. The aroma is not too hoppy, although the flavoring hops lend good balance to the malt. It is not exactly syrupy, but it is more full bodied than a normal beer offering. (279 characters)